Next Post
Spicy Buffalo White Chicken Chili Tacos.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing. A cross between a really great soft, chewy gingerbread cookie and a delicious steaming gingerbread latte made with real espresso. These cookies are made with sweet dark brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and the real secret – espresso powder. They’re generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy brown butter icing that melts in your mouth. You can make them as drop cookies or as Christmas cutouts, there’s really nothing not to love! They’re the perfect holiday cookie to bake, share, and gift this holiday season!
Ingredients
- Salted butter
- Light or dark brown sugar
- Espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- Vanilla extract
- Large egg
- Blackstrap molasses
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla bean powder
What you will need in the kitchen:
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
- Small bowl
- Tablespoons
- Prepared baking sheets
- Christmas cookie cut outs
- Airtight container
- wire rack
- electric mixer
More cookies!! When I say I have been baking cookies non-stop, I mean it. These took me days. They’re the simplest cookie, but it took a long time to figure out how to get them from just ok to the amazing Christmas cookie I envisioned in my head.
The amount of gingerbread cookies I’ve baked in a week’s time is unreal, but look at these!! Oh, they are so, so yummy! And now I can look at them and truly say I really love these.
These are soft and chewy gingerbread. I did both drop cookies and cutouts, but I think I love the drop style more. Either way, they’re my favorite gingery cookie!
When I set out to make these, I really wanted to achieve a gingerbread that was chewy all around, soft, and not like other gingerbread cookies.
For some reason, the sound of a gingerbread latte cookie really excited me. I thought back to the gingerbread latte I created long ago, and then the mocha-cinnamon rolls I made last year. I love the added depth of flavor the espresso adds, so I knew these cookies needed three things. Lots of ginger, some espresso mixed in, and then, they also needed to be chewy.
Here are details
Step One
Let’s start by preheating the oven to 350 and lining two baking sheets with parchment paper! Easy! Next, In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with dark brown sugar and a high-quality espresso or instant coffee powder to create a butter mixture. Then add egg and molasses. Next, add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. That’s the dough. It’s perfectly spiced and the espresso only helps to highlight the warming spices.
Step Two
Roll the dough into walnut-size balls. You can use a tablespoon measure for the correct size. This is a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
Step Three
Then just bake. That’s literally it if you’re making drop cookies. Which are probably my preferred cookie, but only because they’re chewier than the cutouts.
If you want to make the cutouts, add some additional four flour to the dough. Then the key is to roll the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.
Just as I do with my sugar cookies, I always like to roll out the dough, cut the cookies, and then freeze the cut cookies on a baking sheet for a few minutes. This ensures that the cookies hold their shape. To cut my cookies, I used Christmas tree cutters. But you can use any shapes you have on hand, or that your family loves the most.
On to the icing
This icing is everything. Just a handful of ingredients, but I love the nutty brown butter flavor and creaminess. It’s what makes these cookies really melt in your mouth.
The ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt.
The key is to brown the salted or unsalted butter (your choice) on the stove in a small or medium saucepan. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat to brown the butter. Allow the brown butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes. Once cooled, add everything to the brown butter and thin it out with some milk. This includes whisking in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt. Ice each cookie quickly, the frosting does set up pretty quickly.
This combo of ginger, espresso, and brown butter is unexpected, but I’m finding that everyone LOVES it. You won’t even detect the espresso, it just compliments the ginger and cinnamon so wonderfully. The result is a perfectly chewy, gingery, molasses cookie with rich notes of espresso, vanilla, and ginger.
We couldn’t love these easy gingerbread cookies more. And the frosting really makes them special. Hope you guys love these just as much as I do!
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Easy Slice ‘n’ Bake Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Servings: 22 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 250 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 1/4 cups, plus 1-2 tablespoons, as needed all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- granulated sugar, for rolling
Brown Butter Icing
- 1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 -2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoos milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, espresso, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, mixing to combine. Then, add the molasses and mix to combine. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, beating until combined. 3. Place the sugar in a small bowl. 3. For drop cookies: Roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls (if the dough is too sticky, add 2-4 additional tablespoons flour), then roll through the sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to set around the edges, the centers should be a little doughy. Let cool on the pan. 4. For cutouts: Divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you're using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies into desired shapes. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. I recommend using a floured spatula to lift the cookies. Cover the baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, 15 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just set.5. Meanwhile, make the icing. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt. Immediately spread the icing over the cookies, it will set quickly. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
This post was originally published on December 6, 2022
Wow. Just WOW! Gingerbread isn’t one of my favorites, but knowing these would be soft and had the espresso, I had to try. I’m so glad I did! I could’ve eaten the whole batch. The browned butter icing is really what brings it full circle and makes these irresistible. The salt comes through with the light spice and sweet from the icing. YUM. These will definitely be a repeat for next Christmas.
Hey Jenna,
Happy Holidays! Thanks so much for making these cookies and sharing your feedback. I am so glad to hear they were enjoyed! xx
This is an exact copy of the NYT recipe, when will you stop copying recipes???
For those of us in australia can you share how many grams of butter to add?
Hi Julia,
1 stick of butter is equal to 113 grams. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Lovely cookies! I used a cookie scoop that is somewhere around a tablespoon in volume, dropped them onto a parchment sheet (rather than rolling into a ball and coating with sugar), and I got 30 cookies that crinkled and flattened as they cooled so they ended up looking very much like the photos. The icing is delicious and the browned butter gives it an absolutely decadent flavor… Having read the blog post and some of the reviews, rather than only the recipe, I had a couple of tablespoons of milk ready to add with the powdered sugar (and I only used 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, the lower end of the measurements given in the recipe). It wouldn’t have worked without the milk so I’m not sure why that isn’t listed in the actual recipe ingredients or directions. By the way, the reason the icing sets up so quickly is that it’s basically a recipe for fudge!
Hey Dana,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! Have a great weekend!🎄⛄️
Making these today! So excited to try them. So, I have read the comments and today even doubled back for more insight! I have high hopes!
The BEST cookie I have ever made, and top 2 from anyone else’s kitchen. I did have a moment where the icing seemed to separate. BUT I continued to whisk until smooth and added a tiny splash of half and half. The flavor combination is absolutely incredible! I do not enjoy making cookies, but these are SO worth it!
Hey Linda,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend!🎄⛄️
I hope you love the recipe Linda, let me know how the cookies turn out!!
All of my stores were sold out of blackstrap molasses, can I just substitute regular molasses?
Hi Abby,
You could give it a try, I think some other readers have used it as well. I hope these cookies are delish! xT
Omg! These are by far the best gingerbread cookies. I cut mine in to shapes and I found them less tacky if I put the dough in the fridge or freezer before rolling them out. Also added whipping cream to the frosting to make it smoother as another reviewer suggested and it helped tons! These are now an instant Christmas staple for years to come!
Thanks so much Michelle! I’m so glad this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Friday! xx
Made these for a cookie swap and they were a huge hit! The only cookies to disappear before the end of the night! Despite comments mine actually looked pretty close to the pictures and I followed the recipe exactly! I agree the icing was more like frosting— so I used a knife and frosted them and it still looked artsy! I made drop and cutout cookies and I loved them both! Will be making again for Christmas potluck!
Hey Haley,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks a lot for trying these cookies, I love to hear that they were enjoyed! xT
Absolutely delicious and easy to follow recipe!
Thanks so much Jade!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xx
Danger Bay! These are insanely good! I use less icing and put it into a piping bag with a small opening in order to achieve a thin zig-zag drizzle … plus a sprinkle of sea salt. Incredible! My cookies are coming out really puffy and appear to be a little domes rather than a flat cracked cookie. Wondering if I should decrease the baking soda and then maybe smoosh the balls a little bit before baking them? Any tips?
Hey Heather,
Happy Friday!!❄️🧑🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Yes, you can gentle press the dough down to flatten the balls or try tapping your baking sheet on the counter for a flatter cookie:) xx
these are delicious. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but definitely was not able to roll out the dough and do cutouts so I just did drop cookies. it was super sticky even with added flour and floured rolling pin & parchment paper. I’m not very experienced so very likely could be doable for someone else. I added a little milk to my icing to be able to drizzle it. very tasty and pretty!
Hey Katie,
Thanks so much for trying these cookies!! Next time, I would try putting the dough in the fridge to see if that helps for the cut outs! Happy Holidays! xx
I’ve never liked gingerbread cookies until now!! They’re amazing! However, mine don’t look like the picture. I can’t figure out what I did wrong, but mine aren’t crackled-looking. They’re puffier. Still flippin delicious though.
Hey Jaime,
Happy Friday!!❄️🧑🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Try tapping your baking sheet on the counter next time:) xx
I had to add heavy cream to the browned butter/powdered sugar mixture to get the consistency and look of the frosting in the picture. I added the powdered sugar slowly to make sure it still was the right consistency and didn’t turn into a solid lump.
Hey Roni,
Thanks so much for sharing what worked well for you! Happy Holidays! xT
Hiii! can the dough be stored in the fridge for a few days before baking??
Hi Maria,
Sure, that would be okay for you to do! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Really wanted to love these but the icing was a fail! I tried twice and both times it was a glumpy mess. Now that I have read other comments and reread the entire post I see that I should add milk to smooth it out. So wish milk had been included in the ingredient list.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try. So sorry you had issues with the frosting, it does get thick pretty fast! xx
Her issues (and everyone elses’) were with an incorrect recipe. Everyone would love for you to fix it. Why won’t you correct it for people making it in the future? You make it seem like the problem is that of the bakers.
My mom and I had this same issue with the icing. I agree that milk or heavy cream should be listed as an ingredient and included in the steps in the recipe. The flavor is amazing, can’t wait to see how our next batch turns out now that we know how to thin the icing!
This is a copycat of the New York Times cooking gingerbread latte cookies….mere days after they posted it. Please stop falling for Tieghan’s “original” recipes. The reason the icing didn’t work for so many is because her recipes are incredibly poorly written. The icing was meant to be the “difference” between the NYT gingerbread latte cookies. I’m sure some will think this is “hate”, but the chefs who did the work and the training to create these recipes deserve the credit and deserve to be stood up forχ
Thanks so much for making the recipe Eileen!! So glad to hear they were enjoyed, adding the milk to the instructions:)